Telangana to give Rs 1 crore cash prize to Sindhu

Hyderabad, Aug 19: Telangana government will give a cash prize of Rs 1 crore to India's star shuttler P.V. Sindhu for winning the silver medal at the Rio Olympics.

The cash prize is likely to be presented by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to Sindhu after her return from Olympics, official sources said on Friday.

Under the new sports policy announced by the state government early this year, a gold medalist at Olympics is entitled for cash prize of Rs 2 crore, while a silver medal winner gets Rs 1 crore. A bronze medalist will get Rs 50 lakh.

Chief Minister Rao congratulated the Hyderabadi girl for winning the silver medal. She became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal and also the first Indian badminton player to achieve the feat. At 21, Sindhu is the youngest Indian to win the medal.

In his message, the Chief Minister hailed Sindhu's victory and described her as the pride of India, especially Telangana.

Sports minister T. Padma Rao met Sindhu in Rio and congratulated her on her historic feat. He also congratulated her coach Pullela Gopichand.

Minister for Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao took to Twitter to congratulate Sindhu. "It ain't a loss @Pvsindhu1 when you've just won a billion hearts & possibly created a generation of hopeful Olympic champs, cheers Gopi," he tweeted.

"Thanks @Pvsindhu1 & Gopi for making all of us proud. Amazing display of skills & grit. A grand welcome awaits you in Hyderabad," added Rama Rao, who is also son of the Chief Minister.